All 12 Youngsan University Students Win at National Beauty Contest

BUSAN — All 12 students from Youngsan University's Department of Beauty and Health Care won awards at a leading national beauty skills competition, from first-year students new to the field to adult learners with a decade of experience as bathhouse scrubbers.

According to the university on the 26th, the 12 students recently competed in the 2026 Korea CIDESCO Beauty Therapy Online Skills Competition and all placed.

The competition was hosted by the Korea Skin Care Association and the Korean branch of CIDESCO, and sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Human Resources Development Service of Korea and WorldSkills Korea. About 1,800 people competed across 18 categories, testing their technical and practical skills.

The Youngsan students received two President's Awards from the Korean branch of CIDESCO, two awards from the Korea Skin Care Association and eight Gold Prizes. With every participant winning an award, the results were seen as demonstrating both the department's hands-on education and the achievements of its extracurricular programs.

The performance of four first-year students, who had no exposure to skin care before enrolling for the 2026 academic year, stood out in particular. After learning skills from the ground up through regular classes and the extracurricular program of the Busan Anchor Project (formerly the RISE Project), they won a President's Award from the Korean branch of CIDESCO and Gold Prizes. This showed that even those without a background in beauty can acquire professional skills in a short time when given systematic education.

A case of an adult learner changing careers also drew attention. Shin Eun-hee, who received an award from the Korea Skin Care Association, worked as a bathhouse scrubber for 10 years before enrolling at Youngsan University, where she received professional training and forged a new path as the owner of a beauty shop. With this award, she once again proved practical skills that combine field experience with professional education.

Kim Mi-kyung, head of the Department of Beauty and Health Care, said, "I am pleased that the efforts of students who showed passion while balancing work and study have borne fruit." She added, "We will continue to provide tailored education and diverse opportunities to take on challenges, so that everyone from beauty newcomers to field professionals can grow one step further in their own position."